And can you believe it?! It is time for JULY'S Social Media Update Round Up!

Each month I sift through the hundreds of updates to the major social media platforms to bring you those I believe are most important to businesses. There are some exciting ones this month, so settle in and take a read...

Facebook

Scheduled Post for Groups

I am REALLY excited to share this one! With the addition of Group Insights that we rolled out in June, we can now schedule our posts at peak times for our members. This is a huge help for those of us who like to prepare content ahead of time and get a content plan written out.

Groups for all Pages

Facebook also made Groups for Pages available worldwide. In the words of Facebook’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox:

"Like so many things we build, this came out of a pattern of emergent behavior on Facebook that was new and interesting – and in retrospect, obvious. The Washington Post started a group called PostThis, where reporters talk directly to the most avid fans of the paper about how stories come together. It was a digital version of letters to the editor, but with ongoing real-time discussions - connecting the newsroom with their most avid readers, and their avid readers with each other."

See - it's all about stories and connection, and the concept of 1,000 True Fans.

Target those who interacted with specific events

Great news for businesses who run events: Facebook has added new “Events” custom audience option, enabling advertisers to target people who engaged with specific events. You can target people who clicked 'Going', 'Interested' or both.

The faster your website, the better your Facebook ranking

Also, Facebook is making an update to the mobile newsfeed, to prioritise posts linking to websites that load QUICKLY, over posts linking to websites that take a LONGER time to load. It is important - as always - to ensure that your website is mobile optimised and has a speedy loading time.

Cover descriptions on Facebook Pages

Early on in July, Facebook confirmed that it is testing the addition of page descriptions on cover images. Currently, this feature is desktop-only and descriptions can be up to 100 characters. This is a great way to quickly communicate your brand essence.

Instagram

Spam comments blocked

Over on Instagram - is anyone else enjoying fewer spammy comments? I actually didn't realise this until I read the latest update from Instagram, and learnt that they are actively reducing spam in comments. And I now clearly notice a difference between what was happening a few weeks and months ago versus now. A win for everyone (well, apart from the spammers). If you want more info: https://business.instagram.com/blog/a-safe-place-for-self-expression/

Reply to Stories with images and videos

Have you noticed you can now reply to Stories with a photo or video!? This could get silly! According to The Next Web:

"The replies to your Story will be sent to your Direct Inbox, as usual. The photos and videos will behave the same way as all disappearing messages do on IG — namely, you can see if someone replays them, or takes a screenshot."

Twitter

Auto ad campaigns

Well, this is a bit different! Twitter has quietly released a $99 per month ad subscription program that auto-amplifies all your tweets and your profile. I actually REALLY like the sound of this as it auto promotes your content, rather than you needing to set up campaigns and ads. However, I would love this over on Instagram and potentially LinkedIn, with those platforms being larger drivers of leads to my business (sorry Twitter!). At this stage, the program is in beta testing and you can sign up for free for 30 days.

Pinterest

Quickly search functionality

With Pinterest reporting monthly mobile text searches up 40% on last year, it is no wonder it has tweaked its platform to allow easier search capabilities. From Pinterest:

"Now, instead of having to open the Explore tab to search for ideas to try, you simply type what you’re looking for into the new search bar at the top of your home feed. You also have the Lens camera right there at the ready, so when you spot something out in the world that looks interesting, you can quickly tap open Lens to snap a photo and find related ideas.”

LinkedIn

See LinkedIn data about website visitors

Ok - wow. This is pretty amazing. LinkedIn is launching 'LinkedIn Website Demographics'. By inserting a special LinkedIn generated code into your website, you can then discover the types of people visiting your website back on LinkedIn, viewing by job title, education, company name, industry and more. Once you know this data, imagine how targeted your advertising and marketing can get!

That's it from me. If I have missed any important ones, please do add in the comments below. And if you would like to discuss what these updates mean for your brand, get in touch.